


heavy lies the head

by Areiton



Series: Tony Stark Bingo [18]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Ironheart, POV Second Person, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Superheros, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Lives, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-09-01 00:03:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20248843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Areiton/pseuds/Areiton
Summary: You didn’t die.Ironman did.Tony Stark Bingo: K5 Lost Their Powers





	heavy lies the head

**Author's Note:**

> No disrespect meant for Riri Williams at all. This just happened and YOU try controlling the little princess when she gets an idea in her head. I'm just the writer.

You don’t die. 

That is the first hurdle, the one that--at the time--seems insurmountable. 

You don’t die. Bruce undoes what Thanos stole, and your boy, your Peter comes back to you, babbling and solid, a warm weight in your arms that you’ve _ ached _ for, all these long years when you stole happiness that felt unreal and precious and fleeting. 

You hold him and know you would do anything to keep him, to keep your family. 

It’s easy, to steal from the Mad Titan, who thinks himself invincible and inevitable, and easier still to snap your fingers, because you aren’t buying peace for the whole world--you’re buying it for four people, for Pepper and Morgan and Peter and Rhodey. 

You expect to die. 

You don’t. 

You wake in a small familiar cabin, surrounded by familiar faces, and you can feel it already, the loss, but your heart is beating and Pepper is smiling and Peter is _ alive _ and you think--this isn’t too much. 

The weight of this sacrifice is one you are willing to carry. 

~*~ 

Ironman died. 

That is the second hurdle, and it’s painful. Almost as painful as losing your arm. 

Pepper explains it, the way she always explains things to you--firm and gentle both, no nonsense, all fact. 

Steve Rogers took the Stones back in time and didn’t come home. Natasha is still dead. Ironman--Ironman died on that dusty field of battle and the world mourned. 

“You can’t fly the suit,” she says last. “It’ll put too much strain on your heart. And the world--they’d never let you rest.” 

You know what she’s saying. Ironman is dead. 

And you aren’t--but the world thinks you are. 

~*~ 

Peter is different. 

It hurts the most, to see. The way he goes still, utterly, sometimes, the way he shies away from too open spaces and darkness, the way he clings to Morgan and you and Barnes of all people. 

He’s still happy, still babbling and brilliant and snarky--still _ Peter. _

But an older Peter, a Peter scarred by the death you couldn’t save him from. 

~*~ 

The world turns and new threats emerge. 

And you watch. 

From your cabin in the middle of nowhere. With Pepper and sometimes Bucky--he’s almost likable and understands the metal arm like no one else--and sometimes alone. Hawkeye returns, but it’s not Clint, it’s a sassy girl with deadly aim and a mile wide smile. Captain Marvel is around for some of the clean up. 

Rhodey does the most. Rhodey and Sam, with a shield that still looks a little jarring in his hands instead of Steve’s. You like him, though, like what he brings to the name--Steve chose well. 

You miss it, most, when you see footage of Rhodey in the sky, brilliant and beautiful and deadly and think _ you should be with him. _

~*~ 

You think it’s hard, living broken, living dead, living and forgotten. 

You think it’s hard but worth every price because you see your little girl growing up, happy and laughing with Peter and so damn smart it makes you ache. 

You see Peter losing his shadows and shouldering his demons and arguing with Harley and R&D about new innovations and you think any price is worth this. Worth their happiness. 

And then you see blue and red, bright and familiar arching through New York and War Machine keeping pace and you can’t _ breathe. _

~*~ 

He comes home. 

They always come home. To the Tower when you are in secluded residence there and the Mansion when Pepper stays in the City, and most often the cabin. Sometimes bleeding, sometimes broken, sometimes tired and happy and victorious--they come home. Always. 

You breathe, relieved and dreading the day they go out again. 

And you know--they will. You can’t stop them. You wouldn’t if you could. This is who they _ are, _ and you live without a piece of your soul because Ironman died and you did not, and you are scared, you are terrified, but this--this is a weight you can carry for them. 

~*~ 

When you see her, you can’t breath. Your heart trips, and you cry, almost scream for Pepper, and you can’t look away. She hovers between Peter and Rhodey and faces an over-sized robotic _ dinosaur _in central park. She wears a suit so similar to yours it hurts. 

It _ hurts. _

It’s red and gold with silver and blue, a nod to Rescue that Pepper only rarely uses, the arc reactor gleams familiar blue, a delicate heart shape that makes a sob catch in your throat. 

They call her Ironheart on the news, but that’s your _ baby _ , that’s _ Morgan, _fighting beside your son and your brother and you don’t know how to live with this, with the sharp hot terror. 

Pepper squeezes your hand, and murmurs, “They’re your legacy, sweetheart. They’re just like you.”

~*~ 

They come home. Laughing and guilty and defiant and whole. Your best friend and brother, the man who stood protector and shield when you needed it and sword at your side when you fought. 

Your son, your Peter, the future you never dreamed you could have, everything good in you made better. 

And your baby, almost grown now, beautiful and sweaty and still clad in the armor you built once in cave. 

You want to scream, rage, drag them close and never let them go. 

You want to step into your suit, and fly with them. 

“You did good, today,” you say and Morgan smiles, blinding bright. 

Rhodey squeezes your shoulder, something like understanding flickering in his eyes. 

Peter pauses. “I know it’s not what you wanted for her--” he says and you shake your head. 

“I want you safe and happy. Morgan too. That’s all I ever wanted.” 

~*~

It’s true. 

And it’s not. 

And you worry. You sit, gripped with fear and fury and longing, watching them. They’re the future you never meant to see, the one you never wanted for them, and the best brightest thing in your world. 

~*~ 

You didn’t die. 

Ironman did. 

And when they fly together--Ironheart and War Machine and Spider-man--you think this is the price of the peace you bought. The grief and longing and fear you don’t speak. 

And this is what that price bought--they come home. They come home. 

You carry the weight and rise to greet them. 


End file.
